Editing Snake (section)

==== Sidewinding ====
{{Main|Sidewinding}}
[[File:Neonate sidewinder sidewinding with tracks unlabeled.jpg|thumb|right|A neonate sidewinder rattlesnake (''[[Crotalus cerastes]]'') sidewinding]]
Most often employed by colubroid snakes ([[colubrids]], [[elapids]], and [[Viperidae|vipers]]) when the snake must move in an environment that lacks irregularities to push against (rendering lateral undulation impossible), such as a slick mud flat, or a sand dune, sidewinding is a modified form of lateral undulation in which all of the body segments oriented in one direction remain in contact with the ground, while the other segments are lifted up, resulting in a peculiar "rolling" motion.{{sfn|Cogger|Zweifel|1992|p=177}}<ref name = "Jayne2">{{Cite journal |vauthors=Jayne BC |title=Kinematics of terrestrial snake locomotion |journal=[[Copeia]] |year=1986 |pages=915–927 |doi=10.2307/1445288 |volume=1986 |issue=4 |jstor=1445288}}</ref> The sidewinder moves forward by throwing a loop of itself and then pulling itself up by it. By lowering its head the snake gets leverage, straightening itself out and pressing itself against the ground, it brings itself forward and at an angle that leaves it ready for the next jump. The head and the loop are in effect the two feet upon which the snake walks. The snake's body, appearing roughly perpendicular to its direction, may bewilder the observer, since preconception may lead one to associate snake movement with a head that leads and a body that follows. It appears the sidewinder is going sideways - but precisely where the snake is going, where it wants to go, the head gives clear indication. The snake leaves behind a trail that looks like a series of hooks one after the next. Snakes can move backwards to retreat from an enemy, though they normally do not.{{sfn|Campbell|Shaw|1974}}{{page needed|date=April 2024}} This mode of locomotion overcomes the slippery nature of sand or mud by pushing off with only static portions on the body, thereby minimizing slipping.{{sfn|Cogger|Zweifel|1992|p=177}} The static nature of the contact points can be shown from the tracks of a sidewinding snake, which show each belly scale imprint, without any smearing. This mode of locomotion has very low caloric cost, less than {{frac|1|3}} of the cost for a lizard to move the same distance.<ref name="Walton"/> Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence that sidewinding is associated with the sand being hot.{{sfn|Cogger|Zweifel|1992|p=177}}